Columnist’s booklet: A little of everything for everyone

Friday

Dec 28, 2012 at 8:02 PMDec 28, 2012 at 8:04 PM

Book written by Frank P. Johnson

Dave Clarke

Wondering what I would write about as one year ends and another begins, I came across a copy of Frank P. Johnson’s “Window of the Year.”They were tall and thin booklets with card-stock covers and staple bound and contained things Johnson ran in his “Window of the Week” column in the Star Courier.From what I gather, the column ran in Saturday’s paper and the booklets were published at the end of each year, most likely in December. Probably made great stocking stuffers. The price on the cover is 25 cents.If I remember correctly, Johnson’s “Window” books were published in the 1940s and 50s. I have seen many different editions over the years. Usually someone finds one while going through a deceased relative’s belongings, as I did, or they show up at auctions, sales or on eBay.Johnson was born in Cherokee, Iowa, on July 21, 1889. He was a professional speaker, state legislator responsible for designating Kewanee and Henry County as Hog Capital of the World, and a columnist for the Star Courier. He is also the namesake of Johnson Sauk Trail State Park for his efforts to establish a recreation area north of town.Frank Preston Johnson died March 19, 1955, according to our files, at age 65 after suffering an apparent heart attack. He was serving in the Illinois Senate at the time.Looking at the booklet, Johnson’s columns apparently began with an observation about the season, a person, or a current topic. All are light in nature.The bulk of the column, however, consisted of “quips, jokes, quotes and poems” submitted by readers, and snippets of wisdom made by local people apparently overheard by or passed on to Johnson. It would be like me doing a column every week on what I overhear at McDonald’s. That’ll never happen!In the forward Johnson, who called himself the “Window Trimmer,” or simply “The Trimmer,” begins by pointing out that this is the second “Window of the Year” and that “This little booklet is for ‘folks.’ It is not meant for cynics and sophisticates. The homey stories, poems and paragraphs constitute what such people call ‘corn.’ Well, we’re not ashamed of corn. In fact, we’re rather proud of it.” One of the weekly features was even called “The Corn Crib.”On Page 4 of the 58-page publication, Johnson begins under the heading “New Year’s Greetings,” with “Some of our younger critics complain that the ‘Window’ contains too many items about ‘the good old days.’ They may be right. That’s a common failing as our years increase. We are inclined to forget ‘the bad old days’ and recall only that which was pleasant…” and on he goes listing some of the “bad” things from the past and promises to look forward more often in the future.I had a hard time putting a year on Window of the Year. Nowhere on the cover or in the forward does it state what year is being reviewed.On the front is a drawing of Johnson leaning back in an office chair with feet up on a desk glancing back over his shoulder as he faces a window which looks out at a representation of the world. Inside the cover he calls attention to the “splendid” typesetting work done by Ed Fuller.I remember that name as one of the men who worked in the old Star Courier building at Tremont and First streets. Back then, the Star Courier had its own printing and publishing department separate from the newspaper. They did commercial printing of programs, business cards and even published books, so this was an in-house project.Johnson also credits Wayne Brand, “a Kewanee artist,” for many of the sketches and the cover design. Brand was the younger brother of Kewanee’s claim to movie and television fame in the 1950s and 60s, Neville Brand.I finally found a clue to the year on the first page of text in a paragraph under the heading “Needs of 1946.” That would mean the columns which followed were from 1946 editions and compiled and published at the end of the year. The reference to the second annual “Window,” means the first edition was probably published for the 1945 year.Under the “Needs of 1946,” Johnson writes: “The nation needs an overhauling of our congressional machinery. It hasn’t had a complete checking-over since 1893, when government expenditures were 3/10ths of 1 percent of what they are today. We are using an ox cart in the age of the atom.”A submission by Wethersfield Township farmer Harry Myers reads: “What our country needs in 1946 is more tractors and less detractors.” Another, sent in by Lee Hayes, says: “What our country needs in 1946 isn’t more liberty, but less people taking liberty with our liberty.”I’m sure I’m not the first to say here that the more things change, the more they stay the same. People in the Kewanee and Tri-County area looking back on 1946 and ahead to 1947 weren’t that different from those today looking ahead to 2013, or “Lucky ‘13,” as I call it.Congress still needs an overhauling, a few less detractors wouldn’t hurt, and more and more we seem to be having our liberty taken away. I will enjoy taking a closer look at Frank Johnson’s 1946 “Window of the Year” in the winter days and weeks ahead. Who knows, I may find some inspiration for future columns.Happy New Year!